Last week, I saw the documentary “Bill Cunningham New York” directed by Richard Press. It is obvious that the film was about Bill Cunningham, and at first, I had thought that this was going to be a boring documentary about some guy’s life. I was completely wrong. Bill Cunningham turned out to be one of the most inspiring people that I have ever had the pleasure to learn about. Even though he had a head of white hair, Bill was definitely not old. Young spirited, carefree, charismatic, Bill spent his days as a fashion photographer for the New York Times. He had spent his entire life pursuing his passion as a fashion photographer and you can tell that he was a very happy man because he is able to have fun everyday that he is at work. He rides around on his bicycle in the busy streets of Manhattan and travels from one event to the next. It is true that he works hard, but it is not work to him. He is simply enjoying himself.
Even though many people say that it is important to love what you do so that “work” does not really feel like “work,” I really saw truth to this statement after watching the documentary.
Bill Cunningham
It is so great to hear about inspiring people like him. It actually makes us go look for things to do and explore different areas of interest. It is so amazing to hear that even after all these years he still enjoys what he does. It gives hope to many people!
This post reminded me of Brandon, the photographer behind the Humans of New York blog. I always feel inspired by the people who have the courage to look past what is expected of them and to instead pursue the things that they love. In his description of himself Brandon says “After I lost my trading job, I decided to move to New York City and take portraits of strangers on the street. Mom wasn’t too happy about that decision, but so far it’s gone pretty well.”. I don’t really know what I am passionate about or what I want to do, but I hope that when I discover what it is, I have it within me to pursue it.